So, why the sketches?

WHY SKETCHES

and the process we took to get there.

We chose to integrate sketches to allow our customers to see over 2,000 products to help them choose the right product for them. When we start the process of creating a new bag we start with a sketch, we wanted to take our customers on that journey.

For us to explain the choice we made for the future we want to share with you some information of our rich history that goes back more than 50 years, to when this family business was founded by Uncle Steve, and then his nephew Keith continued and evolved to the new needs of the world today.

The decision was a process in which we looked at our customer needs from the start of the business and looking forward to how those needs will evolve. So we want to share this with you below and thank you for supporting us in this vision, everything we do is with our family (customers and team) at the heart of all our decisions.

1966

Steven Hanshaw (aka Uncle Steve) started the business in the back streets of Liverpool with just some leather and a whole heap of passion for the craft.

After many years of hard work, Uncle Steve was able to establish standards and values that continue to live today in our family business.

From the very start, our DNA was to make products that are personal and of high quality that will last generations, whilst offering choices, as we know every customer is different.

This was a time in which the UK was booming in the world of manufacturing. Over time this would change, as these incredible craft skills became in less demand, and as globalisation and mass-manufacturing started to take over.

Uncle Steve refined his skills and constantly diversified the range of products offered. Adapting to market demands with a dedication to keeping the craft alive for the next generation.

2004

The time had arrived for us to become digital and to not just join, but start to lead the UK made leather industry into this new platform. Once our Managing Director Keith Hanshaw rejoined the family business, having just finished his time working at Yahoo, he saw the immediate opportunity in this area and had a very clear vision for the company for the next 20 years. Our very first website was born. We started just with a landing page and a few bags and colours, for people to find us and order from us. As the oldest and last Satchel maker in the UK it was important for us to get behind this.

Years later, this choice allowed for the business to grow, and this allowed it to be possible for other brands and companies to be born and continue the tradition of making the iconic Leather Satchel bag.

2017

We continue to innovate in such a big way, we think that once again we will set a new industry standard. Our customers have different needs. They either need to be shown a bag that they will love or they have a bag in mind that they would love to have made.

Our customers want to be able to choose from a mixture of colours in a mixture of styles and personalise the bag to fit their needs. Our customers’ needs are so diverse, that we had to think of a whole new way to meet those needs.

Sketches as an additional tool allow us to meet the requirements of speed and quality in a unique way, that we uniquely know best and are able to do.

We started with images of our bags, all 36 styles that are currently available to our customers. There are many styles that we have, that currently, our customers don’t know about, this was a great chance to get this updated. Our development team (we call them the “crazy scientists”, as that section of the workshop is more like a lab) are also working on some exciting new designs with some new materials.

Our team then worked with artists that were able to create high-quality digital sketches that could be coloured with our unique leather colours. We even did some sketches of the sizes to help create some sense of scales when viewing multiple sizes. No detail is too small for our creative team. Once the sketches are done we can start to create the process of colouring each one of our styles in each one of our colours. Initially this took months of work as we had to create more than 9,000 images to capture every angle and to create the scaled view, 3,000+ were done manually due to our very unique textures.

We then created 36 different styles in 42 different colours. This means we have more than 1,500+ products. Our customers generally want to see an image of the bags front, side, rear and straps, so we are talking of around 9,000+ images in total. Not to mention our special seasonal styles and colours, plus the ones we are currently working on. How do we keep up with our customers’ needs and continue to present the products as and when they come out? In today’s fast-paced world, speed is everything but quality and personal will always come first.
We are a creative family business, so we thought creatively and came up with a solution that we feel our customers will love. A series of sketches that present all our colours and options so that our customers can make a more informed decision that holds our complete product range.

Photography will still be present

you can still view photos in our ready made section.

We understand that change takes time, and we also value the importance of beautiful photography. The Leather Satchel Co. is the oldest Satchel maker in the United Kingdom, and we have lasted more than 50 years because we do things differently. Because we embrace and lead change. We have a unique style of photography. We want our customers to see the fact that we have made our bags in the UK for over 50 years, as a family owned and a family run company.

In our Ready Made section you will find all our products that are made and ready to ship, plus beautiful photos taken by our team in our workshop. If you want to see more beautiful photography of our products then now is more important than ever to follow us on Instagram where we will post photos of our beautiful products, and some sneak peak behind the scenes content too!